McDonald’s wants to change at least one undesirable aspect of working in the fast food industry: the uniforms.

The burger giant is checking out fashion designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, P. Diddy and Russell Simmons as it moves to make over its employees’ ho-hum garb, trade publisher Advertising Age will report Monday. The uniform switch could cost the world’s largest youth employer a cool $80 million.

The style shift parallels other recent attempts by McDonald’s to appeal to a younger, more urban demographic.

The traditionally staid, family-oriented restaurant chain has run commercial spots featuring Def poets and hired an entertainment company to find hip-hop artists willing to write lyrics espousing their love of Big Macs.

Redesigning its uniforms will not only allow McDonald’s to present a fresher face to the public, but also give it an edge in recruiting employees, said Neil Stern, a senior partner with retail consulting firm McMillan Doolittle.

“Uniforms say a lot about who you are to an internal audience,” Stern said.

They project an image of who you want to hire and attract employees.

As for attracting customers, that hasn’t been a problem for McDonald’s. The company recorded just over $24 billion in sales last year, a 10.3 percent increase over 2003 figures, according to industry consultant Technomic. Males aged 18-34 are the most frequent visitors to the Golden Arches. McDonald’s numbers are three times higher than the $7.7 billion in sales generated by each Burger King and Wendy’s last year.

McDonald’s has tapped Steve Stoute, a former music executive who hooked it up with Justin Timberlake for the “I’m Lovin It”campaign to consult on the project. No word on whether the new designs will eliminate the French fry smell, though.